The Nuggets secured the win behind a career night from Jamal Murray.
The Denver Nuggets won the season series three to one over the New Orleans Pelicans. However, the real story was the coming out party for Denver rookie Jamal Murray.
Murray posted a career high 30 points to go along with five assists as well. On top of all that, he also shot an outstanding 71.4% from the field and possessed a box plus/minus of +12. Definitely the best game of the season for the rookie.
Jokic was still doing Jokic things as he collected another double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. He was third on the team with a box plus/minus of +18.
Another overlooked performance is the play of Gary Harris. In my game preview, I elaborated on how Harris was going to be the X-factor, otherwise the Nuggets would struggle. Well, he didn’t struggle at all posting 20 points to pair with nine assists. The result, a Denver Nuggets blowout in the Pepsi Center.
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Denver kept the Pelicans’ key role players at bay which proved very useful. Jrue Holliday struggled and had a box plus/minus of -19 and Solomon Hill was held to a measly five points in 41 minutes of play.
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Anthony Davis was great as usual with 25 points. However, he actually was ineffective on the defensive end which was surprising. He didn’t log a single block and had a box plus/minus of -2. Davis did not log a single assist in this game and it certainly assisted the Nuggets who are not known for their defensive prowess.
From a team perspective, the stats tell the story of why it was a blowout. Denver as a team had a box plus/minus of +16 whereas New Orleans had the opposite of -16. A huge discrepancy to say the least. Denver shot 55.1% from the field and New Orleans shot 47.5%.
It was very clear in this particular matchup that the Nuggets wanted it more. I said they needed to come out hungry and that is exactly what they did.